Chapter 10

When they reached the end of the forest and entered a beach, they frowned not understanding. Luffy ran to the waters and Ace felt himself trying to rescue the boy. He knew he was a devil fruit user and they sink in the waters. But he could care less. Moreover he was filled with rage that moment. Luffy ran to the waters and was soon cuddled by it, leaving Ace questioning if he was really a devil fruit user.

Luffy called them near and Ace walked with a frown and glare on his face, while Sabo was completely confused.

"Mom!!" Luffy pointed to the ocean. Ace felt that Luffy was joking and Sabo felt more confused.

"What the hell, are you even saying?" Ace growled.

Luffy pouted and said clearly this time. He could hear his mom snicker. "My Mom is the ocean. She knows everything."

Ace and Sabo felt their eyes widening at that. They couldn't believe it. Luffy grinned and looked at Ace and Sabo.

"Mamma says thank you for helping me," Luffy chirped.

Ace and Sabo looked at each other. A wave suddenly enclosed apon them. They felt their aches in the bodies vanish and their wounds and cuts which they acquired from fighting vanish without a trace. That was enough proof required to know if the kid was lying or not.

"Say, Luffy," Sabo asked, his eyes still on the ocean. It now made sense why Luffy was able to swim. "Aren't you a devil fruit user?" Luffy pouted at that and mumbled, 'I don't like the name devil fruit at all.' Then he nodded.

"What is your fruit's name?" Sabo asked.

"It's Hito Hito no mi: Model Nika!!" Luffy chirped but soon realized what he had done. He clamped his hands on his mouth to avoid speaking. He did trust his new friends but Grandpa would scold him if he knew that he had spilled his secrets in one day.

Ace and Sabo looked questioningly at Luffy. "I wasn't supposed to say that. Forget that, ok?" Luffy started to walk towards the hideout. Ace and Sabo just shrugged it off. On the way, they realized that Bluejam will hunt them more now and Sabo basically lives in the Gray Terminal, so it will be way too dangerous for him to saty there. Ace and Luffy suggested him to stay with them in Dadan's hideout.

.

After getting chased out of Gray Terminal, Ace's friend Sabo came to live with them. Dadan had accepted the boy with not much difficulty. Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. These boys fought the beasts in the mountains and the jungles, the punks from town, the villains of the dump, and the pirates in the cove, day and night, until their names were known even in the central city of the kingdom.

But during one dine and dash event, Sabo was caught by his father. They ran out of the High Town and Ace and Luffy confronted Sabo and asked him to spill out who the man was. Sabo told them that his biological father and mother were alive and that he was a noble. Luffy and Ace picked their noses in the reaction and didn't care if he was noble or not. Then Sabo told them how he was treated as an object by his parents, how his wishes were neglescted and crumbled on. He told them how they forced him to behave and even when something wrong happened, they wouldn't care for him much. So, he had escaped from the cage, the Noble's house.

"Ace, Luffy," Sabo said fondly, "We have to make it out to sea someday!! We'll leave this country behind and gain our freedom!!" Sabo balled his fists, determination screaming from his body language, "I want to see the world in all its glory and write a book about all the things I find. If it's the sailing I'm studying for, then I don't care how hard I have to work! We've got to get stronger, and become real pirates!!!"

Ace was standing near the cliff smiled and laughed, "I don't need you to tell me that! I'm gonna become a pirate, beat every last person who stands in my way, and earn myself the kind of glory that dreams are made of!! Only then will my life have been worth living!! I don't care if the whole world refuses to accept me, they can hate me all they like. I'll become a great pirate and prove I'm better than them all! I won't run from anybody. I'll never lose. I don't care if they end up terrified of me. I'm gonna make sure the whole world knows my name!!"

Luffy grinned and laughed, "All right, well, then..." He ran to the side of the cliff, his hands high up in the air, and sun-kissed his face as he declared his dream for the world to hear.

"I'm gonna..." The waves supported him. The breeze ruffled his hair by knocking his hat back, the sun shone on him blessing him to his fullest and a drop of water kissed him on the forehead, his mother kissing him as he grinned brighter than the sun.

Meanwhile Ace and Sabo stood there shaken and burst out laughing. But they believed in him, that only he can pull off the impossible, if anyone could. But they didn't spell it out loud. One thing that was clear was that if anyone dared to laugh on their baby brother's dream, he or she won't be spared. Soon they started arguing about who will the captain to which each one declared themselves as captain.

They soon became brothers too. They sparred together, which Luffy always lost, getting hit by his rubbery limbs, and Ace and Sabo mostly tied.

.

They were in the High Town today and Ace was inside a bar. He saw some drunkards talking about Roger. He couldn't help but step forward and ask the question, which always lingers in his mind.

"What if Roger had a son?" Ace asked his hands already fiddling around his pipe and a scowl on his face. He's done this multiple times, then why does he still keep on doing this? Regardless of any answers from himself, he waited for the response of the drunkards.

"If Roger had a kid?" A man repeated as he looked at Ace, "Ha! Then we'd kill him right away!"

"How about we count how many people in the world hate Roger, and stab him with that number of needles?" Another man said. Ace felt rage boiling through his blood, but he stood there waiting for the men to complete their trashing.

"Burn him at the stake!!" Another man said, "Everyone in the world-"

A bone-cracking sound was heard followed by a, "SHUT UP!!!!" The voice growled throughout the bar, stopping everyone from laughing. Ace turned, he knew that voice. He saw Luffy standing near the door, his hands gripping the walls of the bar, and... it was cracking!!! Ace couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Shut the hell up!!" Luffy growled again. His eyes were hidden due to the courtesy of his hat, he slowly lifted his head, it was Ace's turn to flinch. Ace had never seen Luffy angry. Those eyes shouldn't be displayed on a kid as young as him. Those eyes promised death if Luffy stepped forward or moved an inch, the crumbling wall he had embedded his fist in started to crack more, mirroring the kid's anger. He failed to notice how some men fell from their chairs and landed on their faces on the ground.

Luffy glared at the people. He freaking hated these kinds of people. He hated how they blamed one's parent's deed on their offsprings. He hated it. He understood now why Ace hated his father and why he questioned his own existence. These assholes just know to spout nonsense. They are the worst kind of scum in the World, for talking cruelly about an innocent child.

He was only passing by the bar when he felt Ace inside and he was sad. He barged in without wasting a moment and he heard Ace questioning the men about Roger's kid. He heard those insolent words the men spoke. They were, for him, complete lies. The World should know that Roger was a great man. They should not call him a demon. But most of it all, why did the heck Ace needs to be dragged into it? Why the hell should Ace bear for the hypothetical crimes of his Dad?

"What has Roger's son ever done to deserve all those hell?" Luffy growled once again. His fists ground on the wall, a crater already forming, giving the wall a big hole.

"Luffy..." Ace said. He felt himself biting his lower lip.

"Roger's kid deserves everything!!" One man said, followed by another.

Luffy failed to control his anger. His fists landed harshly on the wall behind him, and the wall was completely demolished from existence. He glared at the men hard and the men soon fell on their knees in front of Ace, with a thud. No one in the bar was standing except Ace and Luffy. Some were lying on the floor almost lifeless and the rest were already on their knees, struggling.

"Apologize!!!" Luffy growled. The men felt themself being choked by some invisible power. Ace turned back to see the men, who had answered him, on their knees holding their necks and desperately trying to breathe. He felt an invisible power surrounding the area. It was powerful and could choke to death. He felt himself feeling dizzy. He gulped. Was this Luffy who was doing it? How? Was he capable of that?

"I-I'm s-so..rry," The men choked out. Luffy took a heavy breath and saw around the bar. No one now said anything.

Sabo who was watching this felt the immediate need to get his brothers out of the situation. He ran into the bar and picked up Luffy, who instantly calmed in his brother's hands and rushed Ace out of the bar. They ran to the cliff. After catching their breath, Ace looked at Luffy.

"What did you do?" Ace asked.

Luffy huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, he was hanging upside down from a branch of the tree. "He was saying mean words about Ace!"

"But that's ok-" Ace was cut off by Sabo's and Luffy's eyes narrowing at him.

"How could that be ok??" Sabo asked and glared at Ace. "Sorry Ace, but you should know that even if your Dad is you-know-what, you shouldn't be blamed for his deeds!"

"Yeah, Sabo is right!" Luffy said happily. "Ace should not hear those people anymore."

"Promise us, Ace, you won't go around asking people anymore," Sabo asked seriously. He didn't want his brother to hear those mean words. He didn't want him to hate himself. He had wanted to tell him this always but whenever he would pick up the topic, Ace would shut him up with a glare. But after Luffy joined them, things visibly changed. Ace's shoulder had relaxed a bit from before. He would even give smiles to them.

Ace crossed his arms over his chest and averted his gaze, refusing to meet the eyes of his brothers. He did feel warm to know that they loved him so much to take his sides. But a part of him just yelled that what everybody said was true and he can't blame them. His mind went to the time when he had asked Garp whether he should have been born and his gramps had told him to keep on living and he'll find out. He felt tears prick in his eyes when Luffy suddenly hugged him.

"Ace thinks too much," Luffy said in a low voice, before wrapping his limbs many times at Ace's chest. "Ace should be born. Ace should live. Ace should stay with us. Ace is the best." Luffy said all that in Ace's ears, each word holding pure love behind it. Ace bit his upper lip and nodded at Luffy and Sabo. If Sabo saw his glassy eyes, he didn't say anything, but he soon was pulled into the hug by Luffy.

Ace felt like the luckiest one in the World to have such loving brothers. He had his brothers out in this world, who exist to keep him alive.